BULL. 30] 



POCAHONTAS 



269 



'Pocahontas {Pocahante ft, ior Pokahantesu, 

 a verbal adjective meaning 'he (or she) 

 is playful,' 'sportive,' apparently a cog- 

 nate of Chippewa pagaandisi, contracted 

 to pafjdndi XI, and the vowel preceding the 

 one dropped lengthened by compensa- 

 tion, as always haj^pens in such cases. 

 The aspirate h is not a radical element 

 and is not employed in Chippewa. The 

 Chippewa adj. sufhx -si becomes -su in 

 the eastern Algonquian dialects. The 

 Chippewa word is used of a person, male 

 or female, who dislikes to work and pre- 

 fers to spend his or her time in frivolous 

 amusements. The root is adjectival and 

 trisyllabic. — Gerard). The daughter of 

 Powhatan, chief of a group of Virginian 

 tribes, 1595-1617. Her real name was 

 Matoaka (Matowaka), a word found also 

 in the misspelled form of Matoka and 

 Matoaks. The sole Algonquian root from 

 which the name can be derived is viHmr, 

 'to play,' 'to amuse one's self;' whence 

 Mctauxike, 'she uses (something) to play 

 with,' or 'sheamuses herself playing with 

 (something).' It was undoubtedly to her 

 innate fondness for playthings, play, and 

 frolicsome amusement that was due the 

 name given her by her parents, as well 

 as the expression "Pokahantes" used 

 by her father when speaking of her 

 ( Gerard ) . 



B}^ reason of the alleged romance of 

 her life, Pocahontas is one of the most 

 famous of American women. Her father's 

 "dearest daughter," a mere girl at the 

 time, she is said to have saved Capt. John 

 Smith from a cruel and ignominious 

 death at the hands of Powhatan's people, 

 whose prisoner he then was; and she 

 is credited with enabling many other 

 Englishmen to escape the wrath and 

 vengeance of her tribespeople. What the 

 truth is about some of her alleged ex- 

 ploits can never be known ; some writers 

 have even doubted the episode with Capt. 

 Smith. After the departure of Smith 

 for England in 1609, faith was not kept 

 with the Indians as promised, and 

 Pocahontas, by the aid of a treacherous 

 chief, was decoyed on board the ship of 

 Capt. Argall in the Potomac, carried off to 

 Jamestown ( 1612 ) , and afterward taken to 

 Werawocomoco, Powhatan's chief place 

 of residence, w'here a sort of peace was 

 effected and the ransom of Pocahontas 

 agreed upon. While among the English- 

 men, however, Pocahontas had becomeac- 

 quainted with John Rolfe, "an honest 

 gentleman, and of good behaviour." 

 These two fell in love, an event which 

 turned out to the satisfaction of every- 

 body, and in Apr. 1613, they were duly 

 married, Pocahontas having been pre- 

 viously converted to Christianity and 

 baptized under the name of ' ' the Lady 

 Rebecca." This allianqe was of great 



advantage to the colonists, for Powhatan 

 kept peace with them until his death. 

 In 1616, Mr and Mrs Rolfe, with her 

 brother-in-law Uttamatomac and several 

 other Indians, accompanied Sir Thomas 

 Daleto England, where, owing to the prev- 

 alent misunderstanding of those times 

 concerning the character and government 

 of the American tribes, JNIrs Rolfe was 

 received as a "princess." In Mar. 1617, 

 while on board ship at Gravesend ready 

 to start for America wrth her husband, 

 she fell ill of smallpox, and died about 

 the 22d year of her life. In July 1907, a 

 skeleton, believed to be the remains of 

 Pocahontas, was unearthed within the 

 site of Gravesend Parish church. She 

 left behind her one son, Thomas Rolfe, 

 who was educated by his uncle, Henry 

 Rolfe, in England. Thomas Rolfe after- 

 ward went to Virginia, M'here he ac- 



POCAHONTAS. (tme Booton Hall Portrait) 



quired wealth and distinction, leav- 

 ing at his death an only daughter, from 

 whom was descended, on the mother's 

 side, John Randolph of Roanoke ( 1773- 

 1833). Other distinguished Virginians 

 are also said to claim descent from Poca- 

 hontas. She was called Pocahontas, Capt. 

 John Smith says, " because that the 

 savages did think that, did we know her 

 real name, we should liave the power of 

 casting an evil eye upon her." 



Strachey, the first secretary of the col- 

 ony, gives some details (Hist. Trav. Va. 

 Brit., 1849) regarding the early life and 

 marriage of Pocahontas to an Indian 

 chief, named Kocoum, previous to her 

 union with Rolfe. 



In addition to the authorities cited, 

 consult the Works of Capt. John Smith, 

 Arber ed., 1884; the biographies of Poca- 

 hontas by E. L. Dorsey (1906), Rob- 

 ertsQn and Brock (1887), and Seelye and 



